The Mountains to Sea Trail is in North Carolina. The section which traverses Watauga County is a distance of 16 miles. The intent of this blog shall be to share the progress of our work and the beauty of the trail with others. This blog is hosted and moderated by Shelton Wilder.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Thunderhill to Ravens Rock ~ A Winter View

A quiet moment spent still, standing, looking for the trail... can you see it?

There in the center of the photo, an uninterrupted moment ~

not yet a trailawaiting validation, confirmation;

a trail becomes a trail only when footsteps follow its' course.

At times it seems almost an intrusion to stomp across nature uninterrupted. We begun this hike at Thunderhill near Blowing Rock. This section was built by volunteers and students from Georgia Tech during the Big Dig in the fall of 2009.To see more click here

The rocks on this section are magnificent. Lichen covered, megaliths stacked a millennium ago by forces beyond human perception.

And yet, they continue to gently evolve; providing many unique seasonal wonders.

A close-up reveals the color available even in the heart of winter. This rock lichen, (Tripe?)gives a glowing purple tone to the stone. As an artist, I have used this lichen to create colored dye for making purple paper. By the way, in the lush of summer, this would be a fine soft, subtle, green and purple form.

Oh, yes, one should note that the previous lichen study was take from above this rock formation and can be spotted in the upper center of this photo. Just to give you photographic scale Gary paused a minute beneath this outcropping to contemplate the many others who had passed this way many thousands of times before.

After exploring the shelter rock it was time to get back on trail. It was not unusual for our ground flags to be completely buried under the snow. At times we could walk across the crust. But mostly we knew that at any step you might punch through and drop 18 inches deep.

None the less, there was always interesting form to be seen as redefined by the blanket of winter.

Contours shaped by shadow

Massive marshmallows

and snow cones align the trail.

Finally arriving at Raven Rock my friend Gary caught me clowning out on top. Yep, that's me up there in the center, the tiny black shadow in the trees.

Taking time at the split rail fence to take in the Raven Rock view.

That is the Parkway behind Gary in all its winter glory.

Is there any wonder why the signs say

"Avoid using the Parkway in snow and ice"?

This point provides a magnificentsouth side profile of Grandfather Mountain.

The horizon pan from this point provides a view of several notable peaks.

Sugar Top Condos on Sugar Mountain... (this is why North Carolina now has a Ridge Law)!

From Raven Rock you can also see Beech Mountain, Rich Mountain, Snake Mountain, and Elk Knob; quite the panorama of notable mountains.

Flat Top Mountain on Cone manor can be seen in the foreground. This saddle-back field is in front of the Cone family cemetery which is just behind the split evergreen trees.

Even the Cone manor can be spotted along the ridge across from Raven Rock.

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John Lanman's Trail Report

Trail work will begin again in the spring. Check back for scheduled work days.

828-963-6901

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Look for our MST WORK sign if you want to find us on the trail.

Do You Want to Become a Trail Volunteer?

We welcome new volunteer helpers on the Mountains to Sea Trail in Watauga County. There is something for everyone to do no matter what your ability or experience. We have participants ranging in age from 14 to 84. For more information please contact John (828-963-6901) our Task Force Co-ordinator and Crew leader or Shelton (828.264.5317) Crew Leader and Blog Moderator for more information. We will have scheduled work days on the Thursday prior to the third Saturday of each month AND the third Saturday of each month. We supply all of the tools and gloves. Look for the MST WORK sign along the road. If you miss us at 8:30 come to the Blue Ridge Parkway and look for our orangeMST WORKsign!